- Up to 4,000 tonnes of Printed Circuit Boards from e-waste
to be processed by The Royal Mint annually.
- Recovered, high purity gold will reduce the dependence on
traditional mining activity and encourage more sustainable industry
practices.
- The Royal Mint's latest business venture will create new jobs
and safeguard manufacturing roles for the future.
LLANTRISANT, Wales, Aug. 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- A pioneering new factory that provides a more
sustainable source of gold and reduces reliance on mining has been
unveiled by The Royal Mint.
Located at its site in south Wales, the 3,700 square metre facility uses
world-first patented chemistry from Canadian clean tech company
Excir, extracting gold from printed circuit boards (PCBs) found in
everyday items, such as TVs, laptops and mobile phones, in minutes.
Excir's chemistry works at room temperature, creating a more energy
efficient and cost-effective method of gold recovery.
The factory has scaled the innovative technology from laboratory
to an industrial level for the first time and has the capacity to
process up to 4,000 tonnes of PCBs from e-waste every year. It
provides the UK's oldest company with a new, more sustainable way
to "mine" high-quality 999.9 purity gold. Recovered gold is already
being used in the luxury jewellery collection, 886 by The Royal
Mint.
According to the United Nations' Global E-waste
Monitor[1], the generation of worldwide e-waste is
rising by 2.6 million tonnes every year. A record 62 million tonnes
of e-waste was produced in 2022, up 82% from 2010.
The new factory offers a more sustainable solution to this
growing environmental challenge. It has been designed to ensure
that valuable finite resources are recovered, and other materials
are appropriately treated for onward processing.
Anne Jessopp, Chief Executive
at The Royal Mint, said: "The Royal Mint is
transforming for the future, and the opening of our Precious Metals
Recovery factory marks a pivotal step in our journey.
"We are not only preserving finite precious metals for future
generations, but we are also preserving the expert craftmanship The
Royal Mint is famous for by creating new jobs and reskilling
opportunities for our employees.
"We have ambitious plans, and I am proud that we are
safeguarding The Royal Mint for another 1,100 years."
As part of its commitment to being a leader in sustainable
precious metals, The Royal Mint has also been actively engaging
with major industry bodies to help produce the first standard by
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the
definition of recycled gold, helping to provide clarity to the
industry, end consumer and other stakeholders.
Sean Millard, Chief Growth
Officer at The Royal Mint, said: "The factory underpins our
commitment to using sustainable precious metals and providing a new
source of high quality, recovered gold.
"It allows us to reduce our reliance on mined materials and
is another example of how we're working to decarbonise our
operations.
"Our commitment to growth, innovation and circular economy
principles shapes an exciting and more sustainable future for The
Royal Mint, our people and our communities."
The decline of cash use globally has been a catalyst for change
at The Royal Mint, spurring innovation and diversification. Earlier
this year, The Royal Mint announced the closure of its Overseas
Currency division. All 230 staff have been offered roles in new and
growing business areas including the Precious Metals Recovery
factory, sustaining manufacturing roles for the future.
For more information on the Precious Metals Recovery factory,
visit Precious Metals Recovery (royalmint.com)
For more information on 886 by The Royal Mint E-Waste Gold,
visit Sustainability – 886 Royal Mint
With a history spanning more than 1,100 years, The Royal Mint is
Britain's oldest company and the
original maker of UK coins. Today The Royal Mint is a premium
British maker, providing carefully crafted coins and precious metal
products for the UK and overseas. Based in Llantrisant,
South Wales it has three main
focuses as a business: UK Currency, Consumer (collectable and rare,
historic coins) and Precious Metals Investment.
The Royal Mint has signed an agreement with Canadian clean tech
start up, Excir to introduce a world first technology to the UK,
which will enable it to safely retrieve and recycle gold and other
precious metals from electronic waste.
It is publicly reported that recycled gold is about 10,000x less
GHG (greenhouse gas) intensive than mined gold, as reported by the
World Gold Council.
The requirements for recycled gold[2] are in
development and are being reviewed by the relevant International
Standards Organization (ISO) committee, which The Royal Mint is a
part of.
[1] Global e-Waste Monitor 2024: Electronic Waste Rising
Five Times Faster than Documented E-waste Recycling | UNITAR
[2] ISO/CD 21261-3 - Jewellery and precious metals —
Responsible precious metals — Part 3: Requirements for recycled
gold
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SOURCE The Royal Mint